How much does 1200 sq ft of drywall cost in Fort Lauderdale, FL?
| Typical total$2.10 per ft² of board | $2,519 |
|---|---|
| Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this | $1,679 – $3,936 |
| Labor portion65% of the job — this is the part that moves by city | $1,637 |
| Material portion35% — bought at national prices | $882 |
| Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers pay near Fort Lauderdaleabout $25/hr · Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro | $51,340/yr |
| U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-2081 | $63,600/yr |
| Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs −19.3% against the U.S. mean | −$361 |
Notes
- Where the number comes from. The national price for hanging, taping and finishing drywall is $2.40 per ft² of board — drywall installation pricing published for 2026, $1.60–$3.75 per ft² including materials. Labor is about 65% of that. Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers near Fort Lauderdale, FL average $51,340 a year against a U.S. mean of $63,600 — a factor of 0.807 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area, SOC 47-2081.
- Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
- What is in the price: board, screws, tape, three coats of compound to a level 4 finish, sanding, and labor.
- What is not: primer and paint, texture, level 5 finish, and hauling the old board away. These are the lines that turn a $2,519 quote into a $3,149 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
- Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.
hanging, taping and finishing drywall in Fort Lauderdale, FL
$2,519 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $1,679 and $3,936.
That is $361 less than the same job priced at the national average.
Why the city changes the number
About 65% of this job is labor — $1,637 of the $2,519 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers near Fort Lauderdale average $51,340 a year, against a U.S. mean of $63,600. That is a factor of 0.807, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area, SOC 47-2081.
What the quote should include
The lines that turn a quote into an invoice
Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $2,519 and something a quarter higher.
Use it as a bid check, not a quote
This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.
If a bid lands outside $1,679 – $3,936, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.
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Read more
- Drywall Installation Cost by State — From BLS Installer PayDrywall has the widest state spread of any trade priced here except painting — 1.78x — and the reason is that hanging and finishing is almost entirely hours.
- 8 ft or 12 ft Drywall — the Butt Joint Count Is the Whole ArgumentTwelve-foot board on an eight-foot wall can eliminate butt joints entirely. It also weighs seventy pounds and does not go round a stairwell.
- Cost to Drywall a Room by Size: Six Rooms Priced Line by LineRooms are quoted by floor area and built by wall area, and the two scale differently. A room twice the floor size needs far less than twice the drywall.
- DIY Drywall or Hire It Out: The Real Saving, Tools and Calendar IncludedThe material-versus-quote gap looks enormous. Subtract the tools, the rental and the fact that finishing is a skill, and the honest saving is smaller and still worth having.